Page 10 of Venomous King
She shakes her head with amusement as she watches me pull my desk back to its proper location. Fuck, there is no way they didn’t hear all the noises we made out there in the waiting room.
“Little rose, was there something you needed with your visit?” I know she’s stressed about our wedding in just a few days, and that some of her family has descended on us, albeit in disguise, and hiding from the world at large. We discussed this risk, at length, and decided to take it. Isabella wants her family with us, on the day she finally becomes completely mine.
That fucker, Diego Cabano, is still out there, wreaking havoc on the world and targeting Stella Stratford specifically. I’m not her biggest fan either; in fact, we have an agreement to stay away from each other, so we don’t hurt Isabella and Julia with our disdain for each other. While we disagree on almost every subject under the stars, the one we are both entirely in agreement on, is keeping him from discovering that Isabella is still alive, and that Julia exists. So far, our partnership has worked, and Stella has relented, and allowed us to remain safely hidden from the world.
“I’m worried, Kai. This is a massive risk that we are taking. If my sister or her family is photographed, or God forbid, my grandmother is followed, we could lose everything we have built here. He will come for us, for me.” Her face pales at thethought of being retaken. Even after all these years, she still has nightmares about that jungle. She still hashimin her thoughts.
“That will never happen, little rose. I would never allow him to take you or Julia. You both belong to me, and no one is taking you away from me. I swear it on my life.” I wrap my arms around her tightly, attempting to shake the ghosts from her past away from her. “We have been cautious, and security is tight. Stella is adamant that no one will be able to get through, especially with your sister and her children also here.”
“I hope you’re right, Kai. I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.” In the next moment, someone is banging at my door with their little fists. “Daddy, Momma, let me in! I want to go see Auntie now!”
Well, I guess our time is up. I look over at the clock on the wall, and yup, fifteen minutes exactly is all we got. Isabella must see the direction of my thoughts, as she releases a giggle and passes me to unlock the door, so the little hellion can return. “Momma, can we go now? Auntie promised to tell me a story about Uncle Theo getting in trouble with Gammy.”
I roll my eyes at my daughter’s comment. My future sister-in-law is as much a menace as her grandmother, and I often feel sorry for herspouses, yeah, plural, because one apparently wasn’t enough. No, she needed four of the poor bastards.
I bend down and kiss the top of my daughter’s head, before she races out of the room ahead of her mother. I straighten and pull Isabella to me, kissing her lips firmly as my hand wraps around her delicate throat, and my fingers stroke the column. “Stop worrying. Everything will be fine, little rose. It’s just a few more days, and then every part of you will only belong to me.”
Chapter eight
Issy
“Endure and persist; this pain will turn to good by and by.”
Ovid
My feet slide underneath me on the slick, rough ground, threatening to take me to my knees. My chest is on fire with my labored breaths, and the coppery taste of blood coats my lips. I’m terrified, but I have no idea what is even chasing me, or why I am so scared.
My bare feet come to a sudden halt at a sharp ridge with a daunting drop, and I have to pull myself back before I careen right over it. My arms windmill, as a strangled scream exits my mouth, and I pull back from the edge. Jesus fuck, that was close!
The sound of something crashing through the thick, dark green foliage behind me penetrates my brain, as I force my eyes away from the escarpment. The sky looks dark and ominous, as if it, too, knows that evil is on the prowl. The sudden urge to throw myself over its sharp edge, rather than face whatever is chasing me, fills me. Death. That’s what’s chasing me. I’m not sure how I know that, but I feel it deep inside of me, an oppressive storm that is brewing and threatening to drown me, as it adds to my terror. I can’t allow it to catch me, it will destroy me, body and soul.
“Why are you running from me, Princesa? You know you’re mine. You will always be mine,” a distorted voice calls to me from the shadowed darkness. I can feel malevolent eyes caressing my skin, and they cause all the hair on my body to rise, and my knees to tremble. I search desperately right and left for a way out, for an escape from whatever is coming towards me. Evil. Pain. Despair. My mind fills in the blanks, and my throat tightens painfully, as my mouth goes desert dry. I’m going to die. Whatever is coming for me means me harm.
A branch snapping on my left rips a scream from my lips. Get it together, Issy! You have to be strong, you have to fight whatever is coming for you! My mind commands me, but it only helps to instill further fear in my bones. Whatever strengthI had is fleeing me faster than my sanity. It’s coming, shit, I am going to die.
“You are my little delicate doll; weak, broken, and ready for me to bring you to your knees, aren’t you, Princesa? Back to where you truly belong,” the voice hisses.
“Stay... stay the fuck away... away from me!” My words choke me as they leave my lips, as the shadowy form moves closer, and the air becomes stifling as it tries to vacate my lungs.
“Never. You will never get away from me, Issy. You are MINE!” The voice roars, and a massive man-size cobra snake slides out from the darkness. Its immense flared head catches the dim light, and its scales seem iridescent and beautiful. A forked tongue slithers from its open mouth, displaying viciously sharp venomous teeth. I’m momentarily stunned by the vision before me; this can’t be fucking real!
“No, this is not real... it fucking can’t be,” I gasp, and take a hesitant step backward, and the back of my foot meets with air. I correct myself, even though my blood is pounding like a war drum inside of my ears. I take a step to the right, and the giant snake’s head follows my movement, as a hissing sound escapes its large mouth.
“Did you think you could be free from me, my pretty? That I would allow you to survive in the world without me?” He strikes out, coming closer to me, and his tongue lashes at my arm. “You left me, you’ve hidden from me, Issy, but I’m coming to reclaim what’s mine!”
One moment, I’m standing, paralyzed with fear, as the snake comes towards me and its large fangs descend on my arm, and the next, I’m airborne and free-falling down from the cliff, with it dropping with me. “AHHHHHHH,” a scream rips from my mouth, and my body hits with a hard thud. I’mmomentarily stunned, and a burning sensation on my arm has me panicking, and swatting at whatever is holding me.
“Jesus, Issy! It’s me, Mia! You’re safe, breathe, you’re safe!” My sister’s frightened voice fills my ears, and helps to push back the darkness that has enveloped me. I force my eyes open, and they meet with her large blue-green eyes. In their deep depths, I can see fear. Fear of me, fear of what is haunting me. “Nightmare, sister. You are having a nightmare. Breathe, please!”
I lift my body from my sprawled position on the floor with a groan, and drag both my hands down my face.Shit, it was just another nightmare. Every time I close my eyes now, I’m getting them. The closer we get to the wedding, the more unsettled I feel lately. “I’m... I’m sorry, Mia. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Frighten me? Girl, you just took a few years off my life with that scream. What is going on in that head of yours, Issy? Are you alright?” My sister gives me her hand, and I grasp it as she pulls me up to my feet.
I take a deep breath and then plop myself back on the sofa I must have rolled off in my confused, nightmare-induced state. My hand rubs at my temple, the throbbing that never entirely leaves me now causing my eye to twitch, and I blow out a huge, frustrated breath. “No, Mia, I am not fucking alright. I’m terrified all the time. I’m living in fear, constantly afraid of my own shadow.”
Mia sits beside me, grabs my hand, and threads our fingers tightly together. Her strength tries its best to pour inside of me, to reinforce my own. Once, I believed myself weak and inferior, and wished desperately to be her, but then I survived the unimaginable, and realized I was always strong. I just hadn’t been tested. Now, I no longer covet my sister’s, or even my grandmother’s, strength. I am a Stratford, and each of us stands firm against our enemies.
“Diego, I’m guessing, is the one who is starring in all of your nightmares. He hasn’t found you, Issy, and he won’t. You and Kai have been very careful, and Grandmother has done everything possible to hide your tracks. You’re safe.”